The Best Free Mac and iOS Apps

Got your attention? Of course we did--who doesn’t love great software, entertainment, and even hardware for the low, low price of free? That’s why we’re pointing you to the best Mac and iOS apps; the top sources for free music, videos, and other fun; and even the best ways to make phone calls without dropping a dime.

Whether the economy is soaring sky-high, wobbling like it’s been on a bender, or just plain cratering, one thing never changes--free is our favorite price. And these days, remarkable things can be had for zero dollars and no cents. Problem is, all the chaff can make finding the best free apps for Mac and iOS devices seem so hopeless that sometimes it’s just easier to pay up.

But with a little help, you can keep your wallet closed and your credit card ready for other battles. That’s why our editors sifted through the latest and greatest in Mac and iOS apps to highlight remarkable new software that’ll improve your desktop and mobile computing. We also shined a spotlight on two powerhouses of free: VoIP calls from Macs and iDevices, and Freecycle, an innovative web community that’s a terrific way to snag hardware without touching your wallet. And since we all devour music, videos, games, and books, we show you the latest, most modern ways to find free entertainment that doesn’t suck.

For newcomers to the Apple world, we’ve also highlighted the “classics” of free software that should grace every Mac, iPhone, and iPad—and then we wrap up with a visit to the Dark Side of free by uncovering some common scams that may have tempted you. Free Public Wi-Fi, anyone? Not after you read page six…

Free Mac Software: The Latest & Greatest

For every Skype, there’s a jillion wannabes trying to be “next.” But amid all that noise, diamonds in the rough are waiting to be discovered. That wait is over--here are 10 of our favorite new freeware gems…

Keep track of your daily errands and chores with Ticky, a tiny app that lets you drag completed tasks to the bottom half.

Errands and chores are easily forgotten during a hectic workday or lazy weekend, but Ticky helps keep you on point by listing your pending tasks, as well as those you’ve already completed. It’s dead simple, but why complicate the process of getting essential tasks done?

Take control of your BitTorrent downloads with this powerful and lightweight app.

Mac users have a wide array of BitTorrent options, but we prefer µTorrent, a lightweight and powerful app that lets you manage your files, allocate bandwidth as needed, and even apply various labels to active torrent files. Plus, you can view RSS feeds and automatically download torrents from them. Did we mention how tiny it is?

This lean, mean, open-source word processor shines for Mac users who need something bigger than TextEdit but don’t want to bother with a hefty suite like Microsoft Office or OpenOffice. Casual users who need to view and edit Word docs from time to time will find Bean a perfectly suitable replacement.

Quiet Read makes it easy to save links for later reading by dragging and dropping them to the menu bar.

Keep stumbling across interesting articles but don’t have time to actually read them? Quiet Read helps in a big way, installing a small coffee cup icon in your menu bar (to go with your Caffeine cup already up there; see p24 for details). Simply drag any web link to the icon, and it’ll save the link for later viewing. You can also use a bookmarklet for easy saving while browsing.

Sharing files and links is as easy as dragging and dropping with CloudApp, a web-based interface that lets you upload files of 50MB or less with minimal effort. Simply pull your files to the cloud-shaped icon in the menu bar, and they’ll upload to the site. From there, you can share a URL that lets friends and coworkers download the files in a single click. FTP, nice knowing ya…

Clearing sensitive information and securely deleting files from your Mac is a snap with Black Hole.

Clearing sensitive materials from your Clipboard, Recent Items, and Trash has never been easier thanks to Black Hole, which can trigger multiple processes with a single click. It also securely deletes files from your Mac and unmounts drives and disk images--a worthwhile app for cautious Mac users or anyone who conducts business from their laptop.

Looking to do some vector-based drawing but don’t want to invest in Adobe Illustrator? DrawBerry is a stellar option for dabblers. Its numerous tools are simple and easy to use, making it a cinch for just about anyone to sketch out and manipulate various shapes.

This simple iTunes companion lets you fall asleep to music or videos without worrying about them playing all night long.

Sleepytime is more than a slumber-inducing tea--it’s also the name of a helpful sleep timer for iTunes. This nifty app lets you choose how long to play music for, when to start fading out the volume, and whether or not to shut down or restart your Mac upon conclusion. It’s perfect for nighttime listening.

TrashMe makes it easier to uninstall apps from your Mac by making sure every last file and bit of info goes into the Trash, too. Simply drag the application into the window, and TrashMe takes care of the rest. We also dig how it lets you add protection to any apps you don’t want to accidentally axe.

AppFresh monitors your installed apps for updates and includes detailed descriptions of each.

AppFresh keeps tabs on all your applications (even Apple ones), widgets, and plug-ins so that you’re always current with the latest updates and fixes. It even updates your applications without making you use each app’s individual interface. We like it so much we ran a complete how-to guide on using it in our Nov/10 issue.

Free Music!

Songs from YouTube

Tons of artists are sharing their music videos on YouTube--it’s the new MTV. If you want MP3 audio from one of those videos, just paste the YouTube URL into Dirpy.com, and on the next page, click the Record to MP3 button. You can even isolate the exact portion you want.

bt.etree.org

If you’re familiar with BitTorrent, head to bt.etree.org for a searchable database of live shows by dozens of bands, including Wilco, Jack Johnson, and My Morning Jacket. Grab the torrent file, then use a client like µTorrent to download the music from other users while sharing the bits you’ve downloaded so far. Many of the shows are in FLAC format (an acronym for “free lossless audio compression”), so also grab a free converter like MacFLAC or All2MP3 to get your tunes in an iTunes-friendly format. If you’re not into BitTorrent, try the Live Music Archive at archive.org/details/etree.

Amazon.com

Amazon’s massive MP3 store includes plenty of free tracks, but they can be a little hard to find. The best way is to start at amazon.com, select Music (strangely, not MP3 Downloads) from the Shop All Departments drop-down in the upper left, then look in the Browse sidebar for Free MP3 Albums and Free MP3 Songs links.

MP3.com

A helpful Free Music tab in the main navigation page lets you easily find the goods, or just surf to mp3.com/free-music. We recently found free tracks from Weezer, Willie Nelson, Radiohead, and The Roots.

Now here's an interesting dilemma. uTorrent merged with BitTorrent, and both apps look surprisingly the same for the Mac OS. And since they're merged, what's the difference really between the 2 applications. It would be nice if you did an article comparing the 2 Torrent clients, and seeing what the differences are, if any.